The author/illustrator of Feathered Dinosaurs of China (p. 43)
looks closer to home, taking young dinophiles back 150 million
years and focusing on species discovered in the Rocky Mountains'
Morrison Formation. Considering the lurid choices available to
dinosaur fans these days, it's a rather staid tour; he begins close
to ground level with glimpses of frogs, cat-sized herbivores called
Othniela, and five-foot-long turtles, then proceeds in stages to
30-ton Apatosaurus, toothy Allosaurus, and finally a humongous,
110-foot-long Diplodocus. Each appears in a similarly angled,
middle-distance view, either as part of a detailed scene or as a
paler vignette without background vegetation. The text reads like
museum commentary-"A group of sauropods, called Camarasaurus, dines
on tall bushes and trees in the nearby araucaria wood"-with violent
events occasionally described, but not depicted. Most of the
extinct critters here are shown posing rather than in action, and,
aside from a Stegosaur's vivid purple and green, the colors are
subdued. Readers who just can't get enough on the topic will snap
this up, but it's one of the banquet's blander courses. (Picture
book/nonfiction. 8-10) (Kirkus Reviews)

Millions of years ago, the western half of what is now the United
States was home to some of the largest animals that ever existed:
the giant dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period. Step back in time 150
million years and follow these massive dinosaurs as they gather
around the water hole to feed, fight, and hunt.